By Gabriela Resto-Montero
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
Beginning today, New Yorkers face a host of price hikes in the city, including a 50 cent increase in taxi fares and a 0.34 percent rise in payroll tax for businesses.
The base price for all cab rides will rise to $3 as the state tries to bridge the MTA's widening budget gap and prevent widespread fare hikes and service cuts.
By Monday, local businesses will have to pay the first of an extra 0.34 percent in payroll taxes, reported the New York Post.
State legislators and MTA officials implemented the new rates and hikes to preempt a subway fare increase and fill in a $2.3 billion budget shortfall. As part of the agreement, the MTA will delay MetroCard increases until 2011.
"The whole city is getting very expensive," Upper East Side resident Tim Baga, 23, told the Post. "Riding a taxi can't be an everyday thing now. It's becoming a luxury or something that you do when you absolutely need to."
Other transportation increases this year included a 5 percent tax on car rentals, a $16 increase on driver's license renewals and a $50 hike on vehicle registration fees.
